Canucks’ David Booth stuck in the last-chance saloon

Craig Anderson #41 of the Ottawa Senators makes a save while getting sprayed with snow by David Booth #7 of the Vancouver Canucks.Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photo
/ Getty Images

Vancouver Canucks winger David Booth knows he's at a crossroads in his career. 'That's been frustrating when you haven't been in the lineup and you're not contributing,' he said Thursday. 'No one feels the weight of that like you do. No one understands what you're going through except the players. I'm going to keep working as hard as I ever have to get back there. I know I'm not far off.'Jeff Vinnick
/ NHLI via Getty Images

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OTTAWA – Players rarely know until it's too late that it is their last chance, so David Booth approached Thursday's Vancouver Canuck game with a sense of urgency.

Even after scoring one goal and setting up another, doubling his points from the previous 10 games, the winger knows he can't relax.

“You can't be satisfied with one win or a couple of points,” Booth said after the Canucks dumped the Ottawa Senators 5-2. “You have to be ready to go next game.

“It definitely makes you have more fun out there. And when you score and you win, those two things definitely pick you up a little bit. Now we have to carry that over into New York.”

It was another positive step for the left winger who has struggled for both health and effectiveness most of the two years since his trade from the Florida Panthers.

“It's baby steps,” coach John Tortorella said. “But again, you can see that he's feeling more comfortable. You can see that when he cuts in, he just feels more confident with the puck. So we'll take it a day at a time.”

Two straight games in the Canuck lineup matches Booth's longest streak of inclusion since Oct. 20. He'll make it three when the Canucks visit the New York Rangers on Saturday.

Booth spent a week in the minors on a “conditioning stint,” then impressed Tortorella so much upon his return to the National Hockey League that he was a healthy scratch for three games.

“I've had many conversations with David Booth,” Tortorella said before Thursday's game. “It has been laid out. It has been laid out in a lot of different ways. My last conversation with David Booth was yesterday – a very short one because I thought he played well (on Monday). But that's just the beginning. He's got to continue to grow. . . as far as what he is as a player.”

Booth started Thursday on a line with Ryan Kesler. But after a sloppy first period by the Canucks, Booth shifted on to a unit with centre Mike Santorelli and winger Dale Weise and had his most productive game since the 2011-12 season.

He broke a 1-1 tie at 1:16 of the second period, wristing through a thicket of players and past goalie Craig Anderson's short side. Eight minutes later, Booth backed off the Ottawa defence with his speed, then fed pointman Jason Garrison, whose shot was rebounded by Weise for a 4-1 lead.

Booth had scored only twice in his previous 26 games over parts of two seasons, and would have been a buyout candidate for the Canucks last summer had he not been recovering from an ankle injury. The 29-year-old is being paid $4.5 million US this season, the fifth year of a six-year $25.5 million contract he signed in Florida.

“I think every game here is of the utmost importance,” Booth said Thursday morning. “You can't take a game off, especially where we are right now. We're fighting for every point we can get. I know I'm a big part of that, producing (offence). That needs to be in my game.

“That's been frustrating when you haven't been in the lineup and you're not contributing. Those are things that wear on you as a player. No one feels the weight of that like you do. No one understands what you're going through except the players. I'm going to keep working as hard as I ever have to get back there. I know I'm not far off.”

Tortorella said: “I'm just a big believer that I don't make the lineup. (Players are) the ones who are going to determine to me who's going to play. I try to show them respect by keeping an open book all the time. I think it's a big situation for David to grow again and keep himself there, so he can gain some confidence.”

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